Thursday, April 14, 2011

Fighting Allergies the Natural Way!

Well, here we are in spring it has finally sprung in Northern Cali. My favorite tree has bloomed with its majesty once again.

Taking walks is one of my favorite things to do next to putting my top down on my convertible. I notice that when I am out in the air, my heard starts to get plugged up. Maybe if I get a facemask and wear it out, it will do the trick. There you have it! Seasonal allergies are back. And it seems that they are really back this year. What to do? I thought since some people are asking, I would let you in on some natural ways to fight this wonderful time of the year.

There is a new herb that I have just discovered and it’s called butterbur. Hummm… Here is a link for you so you can take a look, http://altmedicine.about.com/od/healthconditionsatod/a/allergies.htm

Another product that I am using right now is Garden of Life sinus. http://www.google.com/products/catalog?client=safari&rls=en&q=garden+of+life+sinus&oe=UTF-8&um=1&ie=UTF-8&cid=15195878197048306153&sa=X&ei=4eOdTenHGIXJgQek0P3GBA&ved=0CEIQ8wIwAg#ps-sellers

I get this at our health food store here in Redding called Orchard Nutrition. I was in the other day looking and the gal told me they have been getting good reports on this stuff. I said, “I’ll take it!”. It is working pretty well for me. I have had a long-term problem with my sinuses due to over stressing my body with my busy life. So, my process will be slower with this product but I can feel a difference. Make sure you read all of the instructions. I’m sorry nursing moms and people with liver problems.

There are also other ways to combat this time of year. You can use a netty pot. The first time I used this I thought I was going to drown! But I got the hang of it and it is a useful tool. I use a really good organic sea salt or Celtic salt in mine. Those kinds of salts are so healing. I also just keep sniffing water up my nose. I know it sounds bad, but it works. When I’m on the planes I have to do that all the time. I think planes have been one of the problems with my sinus dilemma. Did you know that they take out all the humidity in a plane because it weighs too much? Yep, that’s right. Therefore I sniff and sniff a lot to keep my sinus area moist. Which leads me to tell you that having a humidifier next to your bed at night is a good thing as well.

I was reading the other day where you can drink garlic juice for this. Wow! That would be something to try and get that down.

I have recently discovered a great juice drink. I like green lemonade but I tried a jalapeno in it the other day and yep, it was really good and spicy and my sinuses really liked it. Here is the base drink and you can add anything else you want.

1 head of organic romaine

5-6 leaves of kale

1 lemon

1 organic gala or sweet apple

1 slice of ginger - knuckle size

This is the most hydrating drink for me! In fact, it is tested as being about 1/3 more hydrating than water because it has all of the vitamins and minerals that help penetrate the cells. I also add some liquid Stevia to it for a sweeter taste.

Now, to spice it up you add a half to whole jalapeno pepper.

You can juice or blend this drink. If you blend you will have to cut out the kale stem and peel the lemon. I also like to add cilantro (coriander) or parsley. Like I said, you can add anything you like. That’s one of the joys of juicing.

One more recipe that is great for the throat and upper repository is Master Tonic. A friend of ours invented this tonic many years ago and we have been using it for a long time.